Kucan: A United Europe is Our Common Destiny

Brdo pri Kranju, 31 May

The joint acknowledgment of the sixteen Central Europe presidents at Friday's plenary session at Brdo pri Kranju was that a united Europe is their common destiny, Slovene President Milan Kucan said in his statement for representatives of the Slovene press on Friday. Kucan assessed that today's discussions among the presidents were marked by a very vivacious dialogue, something that is understandable given the fact that the participants of this summit come from countries that are at various stages of European integration.

According to Kucan, all agreed that this meeting is taking place at a time that is very important for Europe. This is the time when decisions will be taken on the EU and NATO enlargement, as well as whether the legacy of the former divisions will be overcome, Kucan explained.

During the discussion, the presidents stressed that the duty of state leaders, including presidents, is to inform the citizens on what the present stage of European integration brings, since the people of both the EU members and candidates do not seem to be informed well enough on this issue.

As a result, citizens have second thoughts, they are insecure about their social status and are concerned that their influence in decision-making processes will be diminished, something that leads to mistrust and rejection. This in turn creates a "happy breeding ground for populism, xenophobia and opponents of European integration," Kucan stressed.

The Slovene president also revealed that the presidents took this opportunity to underline that history should not be abused and that things that happened in the past should not be attempted to be changed. "We have to remember it, but it is our duty to deal with the present, whilst remaining mindful of how we shape the future in light of our past," he said.

The Slovene president also commented on the complications that have surfaced after a Croatian news report suggested that he did not wish to meet with his Croatian counterpart Stipe Mesic. In a statement for Slovenia's public TV network, Kucan underlined that he and Mesic have met on several occasions and that they would sure meet again in the future. He thus claimed that the information released by a Croatian daily earlier today was "unknown" to him.

When touchy international relations are at stake, the public should not be mislead, Kucan pointed out. The Slovene president was also adamant that claims suggesting that Slovene- Croatian relations are at their lowest point ever, are simply not true.

STA (Slovene Press Agency)

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